U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer was at Crestwood Pharmacy in Albany on Tuesday morning, where he stood with Capital Region seniors benefitting from lower monthly costs of prescription drugs.

The senator called for the federal government to work with pharmacies to roll out prescription drug pricing reforms to make them more widely available to older Americans.

He also vowed to block any efforts to roll back on any cost-saving measures.

“Now I’ve heard stories of seniors, you hear it all the time, I’ve heard it from my own relatives, of people who cut the pills in half or take a half a dose a day because they don’t want to go to the drug store every month given the high prices that exist now,” said Schumer. “That can all end when these drugs are so much cheaper.”

When the cap on drug prices takes effect in January, prices will be 79% lower, and it will save taxpayers $6 billion every year, Schumer said.